The Master and Margarita / Мастер и Маргарита. Книга для чтения на английском языке

”

“A good man?” asked Pilate, and a devilish light glinted in his eyes.

“A very good and inquisitive man,” the prisoner confirmed. “He showed the greatest interest in my ideas, received me most cordially…”

“Lit the lamps…”[83 - Lit the lamps: Jewish law apparently required that two candles were lit to establish that hidden witnesses were able to see the accused properly. (Комментарий Р?. Беспалова)] said Pilate through gritted teeth in the same tone as the prisoner, and his eyes were glimmering as he did so.

“Yes,” continued Yeshua, a little surprised at how well informed the Procurator was, “he asked me to set out my opinion on the power of the state. He was extremely interested in that question.”

“And so what did you say?” asked Pilate. “Or are you going to reply that you’ve forgotten what you said?” But there was already a hopelessness in Pilate’s tone.

“Among other things,” the prisoner recounted, “I said that any sort of power is coercion of the people, and that the time will come when there will be no power, neither of the caesars, nor of any other sort of authority.

“And after that?”

“There was nothing after that,” said the prisoner. “At that point people ran in, started tying me up and led me off to prison.”

The secretary was rapidly scribbling the words down on the parchment[84 - to scribble the words down on the parchment – вычерчивать слова на пергаменте], trying not to miss a single one.

“There has never been in all the world – is not and never shall be – a greater and finer power for the people than the power of the Emperor Tiberius!”[85 - Emperor Tiberius: Tiberius Claudius Nero (42 bc-37 ad), second Emperor of Rome from 14 ad. (Комментарий Р?. Беспалова)] waxed Pilate’s cracked and sick voice.

For some reason, the Procurator was looking with hatred at the secretary and the escort.

“And it is not for you, you mad criminal, to deliberate about it!” At this point Pilate exclaimed: “Dismiss the escort from the balcony!” and, turning to the secretary, added: “Leave me alone with the criminal; it’s a matter of state[86 - a matter of state – государственное дело] here.